Separatists storm border post in eastern Ukraine

Sabrina Tavernise

Donetsk, Ukraine: Hundreds of separatist fighters attacked a district border control headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on Monday in the largest battle against the country's border protection forces since unrest in the east began. A government spokesman said the action appeared to be aimed at seizing control of the border with Russia to open it to forces and supplies.

The attack in Luhansk, Ukraine's easternmost province, began at 4am, and fighting was still raging at noon. Oleg Slobodyan, a spokesman for the Ukrainian state border service, said about 500 rebels had stormed the district headquarters building in the Mirny neighbourhood, using automatic weapons and rocket launchers with snipers posted in nearby apartment buildings.

A pro-Russian holds his weapon during clashes with Ukrainian troops on the outskirts of Luhansk. Photo: AP

Five rebels were killed and eight wounded, Mr Slobodyan said, although there was no independent confirmation of that count. Seven border guards were injured, he added.

The attack was a deeply troubling sign for Ukraine's new government, whose president elect, Petro O. Poroshenko, has pledged to crush the separatist movement in the country's east. That promise may prove difficult to keep, particularly in the lawless areas of southeastern Luhansk, where separatists control large swaths of territory that have become combat zones for Ukrainian forces.

Memorial service for victims of the violence between the Ukrainian and Russian militants: the Svyato-Preobrazhensky cathedral in Donetsk. Photo: AFP

The assault also raised the question of how strong the central government's forces are in the east, where many members of the police and other state security forces have either melted away or joined the rebels.

As for the reason for Monday's attack, he said: "We can only guess, but we think that they want to take this branch in order to disrupt the communication and co-operation for many smaller border stations in the region."

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The rebels gave a different view of the fight, saying their forces were battling members of the ultranationalist Ukrainian group Right Sector and the National Guard, a quasi-governmental force that includes many of the so-called defenders of Maidan who were part of the protests in Kiev that toppled the government this year.

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According to an account from the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass, citing the press service of the separatist Luhansk People's Republic, several hundred armed men took up positions around the border patrol building and began shooting at about 4am. It was not clear who the men were, but the agency characterised the fight as being between Ukrainian nationalist radicals and central government forces.

A Russian draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and a humanitarian corridor has been met with criticism from the West and a cool response at the Security Council.

Moscow said on Monday it wanted to stop the violence in Ukraine, which has escalated between pro-Russian separatists and government forces, but its resolution met with strong rebuke from Washington.

The US State Department said it was "hypocritical" given that Russia was doing "nothing" to stop Russian-backed separatists from attacking new targets and holding Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitors hostage.

"So if they're going to call for, would support a reduction in tensions and a de-escalation, it would be more effective for them to end those activities," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

Washington says the uprising in Ukraine is being directed by Moscow.

In one positive sign, Russia's state-controlled energy giant, Gazprom, on Monday pushed back by a week its ultimatum to Ukraine to pay in advance for natural gas or face a shut-off. It also lowered its asking price, signalling a softening of its stance in the two countries' pipeline politics.

Ukraine has been highly dependent on Russian gas, giving the Kremlin powerful leverage over Kiev. But Gazprom is constrained in what it can do by falling spot gas prices on the European market and new pipeline policies in eastern Europe that are opening up alternative sources of gas for Ukraine.